"Never Have I Ever" Writer Tag

Time for another tag! These posts are a lot of fun because they don’t require a lot of work because it’s interesting to compare everybody’s answers. I borrowed this tag from C. G. Drews @ Paper Fury. If you haven’t visited her blog, I highly recommend it! And be sure to check out her contemporary YA novels, A Thousand Perfect Notes and The Boy Who Steals Houses, while you’re at it. They’re so good!

Never have I ever…

…started a novel that I didn’t finish.

I wish. There are countless drafts floating out there on some hard drive, never to be completed.

…written a story completely by hand.

Do short stories count, or are we talking just novels here? I’m going to assume we’re just talking about novels. If that’s the case, no I have not. I tried a couple novels ago, but got so frustrated, I gave up and finished it on my computer. Oh yeah, and it took me nearly a year to write the stupid thing. That’s not to say I won’t be handwriting anything ever again, but a novel? Not anytime soon, thank you.

…changed tenses midway through a story.

Hahaha! Guilty.

…not researched anything before starting a story.

Yes and no. I’ll do a little bit of preliminary research while I’m outlining, but the majority of my research comes after the first draft. By that point, I have a good idea of what I need to learn about, so I’ll go figure out the facts. This method works for me because I write sci-fi/fantasy, but if I were to write something like historical fiction, I’m sure I would have to do my research beforehand.

…changed my protagonist’s name halfway through a draft.

Sort of. Character names are wonderful things. They’re also the bane of my writer existence, right up there with spelling. Wat are words? I’m terrible at naming characters, and I once had an antagonist go through an entire draft as (AN)—my easy-to-find-and-replace version for Antagonist Name. I don’t like parenthesis, so if I want to change something in the next draft, I’ll put it in parenthesis in the first.

…written a story in a month or less.

Yes, yes I have. I’m a two-time NaNoWriMo winner—one with camp in July, and one with the traditional in November. I’m currently querying the November novel.

Never have I ever……fallen asleep while writing.

No, actually, I haven’t.

…corrected someone’s grammar irl/online.

If we’re talking about on social media or in everyday conversation, no I have not. I don’t like grammar Nazis. But I was an English teacher for a bit, so yes, I have helped teach kids about grammar both online and in person.

…yelled in all caps at myself in the middle of a novel.

I don’t think so? But I do write notes to myself in parentheses. Often times, notes look something like this:

(Editing me, I’ve changed the plot from here on out. Sorry, not sorry. Details…)

…used “I’m writing” as an excuse.

To avoid replying to people on social media: yes. To avoid doing things with my family: no. They interrupt me all the time.

…killed a character that was based on someone I know in real life.

Yes. As a teenager, I came close to killing off a character based off a crush and another based off my brother, but I never did. Am I not merciful? Then I turned around and killed another character based on a crush. Beware, gentlemen. Nowadays, I don’t base characters off real people, though I do steal borrow elements.

…used pop culture references in a story.

Yes, I have. I once named a character Genesis after the Genesis program from Star Trek: Wrath of Khan. You’re welcome.

…written between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Probably. I don’t remember.

…drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.

No, I haven’t. I’m a little more sensitive to caffeine because I like to wean myself off coffee every now and then, so if I had that much coffee, I wouldn’t be writing. I’d be bouncing off the walls.

…written down dreams to use in potential novels.

I’ve thought about it, but no, I haven’t.

 …published an unedited story on the internet/blog/Wattpad.

Nope. Everything. Must. Be. Edited.

Never have I ever…

…forgotten to save my work/draft.

Yes. I once lost an entire chapter because my computer crashed while I was writing. Now I have a better computer, and I back up my work as soon as I finish for the day.

…typed so long that my wrists hurt.

No, though I have biked so long my wrists hurt.

…spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.

Guilty. I managed to re-color the wall too. Whoops.

…finished a novel.

I’ve finished several. Though if you want me to count them… hold on… I’ve written nine total. Unless you count Last of the Memory Keepers, my collection of novelettes that together equal a novel, in which case that makes ten.

…laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.

Eh, no. Though emotions often do affect me while writing, I don’t actually like torturing my characters. I feel like a terrible person once I have.

…cried while writing a scene.

No, most of my emotion goes into the story itself, and if it does happen to be a sad scene, I don’t really cry.

…created maps of my fictional worlds.

I write fantasy and as such enjoy creating maps. My print version of Last of the Memory Keepers features a map, though Origami Swan does not. How do you map a Labyrinth that constantly changes?

…researched something shady for a novel.

You know that old joke about how the FBI would question a writer’s search history? Well, I’ve researched things like how far somebody can fall without dying (it’s pretty high, but there are so many variables), blood loss (I feel like this one is a given for some genres), intoxication tolerance (depends on the person), et cetera. I also like to talk to whoever is listening in on my smartphone, though for some reason, they never respond. Big brother is listening…

Finally, for the tags:

I choose you! Have fun.

Let’s chat! How many of these have you never done? Ever done? Have you ready any of C. G. Drews’ books yet?

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